The present invention relates generally to trailer tongues and more particularly to trailer tongues attached to a trailer that may be moved either to a shortened position on a trailer to accommodate storage of a trailer in a garage or enclosed shelter, or to an extended operative position for towing behind a vehicle.
Trailers are used to tow a variety of items such as watercraft, vehicles, and equipment. Generally, trailers are connected to the rear of a vehicle by a ball and socket connection. A trailer ball is attached to the rear bumper area of a vehicle. The socket is connected to the trailer and is placed over the ball to secure the trailer to the vehicle. The ball and socket connection is preferred because it allows the trailer to pivot behind the vehicle during a turn. To allow the vehicle to be turned without binding against the trailer, as is known to those skilled in the art, a trailer tongue is positioned at the front of the trailer to provide the space necessary between the trailer and the towing vehicle.
Due to the increasing length of many of the trailers, it has become necessary to devise ways to shorten the trailer length. This is commonly accomplished through a variety of adjustable trailer tongues. Examples of such trailer tongues can be found in U.S. Pat. No. 5,624,129, issued to Clark, Jr. and U.S Pat. No. 4,331,346, issued to Walters. However, the inventions taught by those patents have many disadvantages. Clark, Jr. includes numerous component parts and requires a cover to shield the components from the weather. The trailer tongue in Clark, Jr. also does not extend and retract easily due to the pin and slot arrangement. Walters discloses a trailer tongue having an I-beam that requires a pulley system to extend and retract the tongue.
Therefore, there is a need for a trailer tongue that does not include numerous parts and that can be extended and retracted with minimal effort.
The present invention is a rollaway trailer tongue that can be incorporated into most any trailer. The trailer tongue can be rolled with minimal effort to an extended and retracted position by virtue of at least one wheel that rolls along a track. The present trailer tongue comprises a housing having an interior portion and an exterior portion. The housing is preferably made of steel plate or other material used to fabricate a trailer tongue. The housing can be welded or attached to the front end of most any trailer. The steel plate is formed so that it has a C-shaped cross-section having a top portion and first and second legs depending from the top portion. There is at least one track located along the interior portion of the C-shaped housing. Preferably the track is welded to one of the legs. In a most preferred embodiment, a track is welded to each of the first and the second legs on the interior portion of the housing.
The trailer tongue further includes a rollaway mechanism positioned within the interior portion of the housing. The rollaway mechanism preferably is made from square steel tube and has at least one wheel rotatably connected to the steel tubing for rolling along the track. The rollaway mechanism is sized so it can be positioned within the interior portion of the housing. In a most preferred embodiment, the rollaway mechanism includes two wheels rotatably connected on opposite sides of the steel tubing for rolling along the tracks welded to the interior portion of the housing. The wheels are positioned to cooperate with the tracks so that the rollaway mechanism rolls along the tracks from an extended position to a retracted position. As is common in most trailer tongues, a coupler may be positioned between the trailer and the socket connection so that a brake actuator can be included in the tongue to provide braking assistance as described further below.
The described invention and its related embodiments will be better understood in view of the accompanying drawings and following detailed description.